Pepsi & Waste Management give birth to the “Dream Machine”

In a memorable episode of Seinfeld, Kramer and Newman devised a plan to drive a truckload of soda bottles from New York to Michigan in order to take advantage of the state’s generous bottle redemption program. While funny, it also showed that people will change their behavior to get a reward. Pepsi is teaming up with Waste Management to expand the idea with their incentive based Dream Machine to increase recycling rates.

If you’re familiar with bottle return machines, the Dream Machine is not much different. It scans your barcode, you deposit the bottle, and get something back such as your bottle deposit fee.

The Dream Machine relies on a “personal reward system” instead of a state mandated bottle return program. Instead of getting their bottle deposit back, users can opt for coupons, special offers, or score points through Waste Management’s Greenopolis site. The points can be redeemed through 3,500 companies like Marriot Hotels and Domino’s Pizza.

Instead of counting on supermarket based returns Pepsi will put the machines where people enjoy a tasty beverage like sports stadiums, parks, and gas stations. The interesting part of their plan is to roll out a number of the machines in places that don’t have bottle redemption programs like North Carolina. It’s a sad fact that only eleven states have these programs to keep cans and bottles out of landfills.

It appears that the Dream Machine may also tackle the larger problem of non-refundable drinks. Many states that have bottle redemption programs only cover soda pop, not drinks like bottled water or fruit juices. In two promotional videos, the Dream Machine accepted a bottle from Pepsi’s water brand Aquafina and a sports drink.

Pepsi also promises that it will increase donations to an organization called “Entrepreneurs Boot Camp For Veterans With Disabilities” (EBV) based on the number of items recycled through each machine.

The combination of scoring special offers and helping veterans get job training is an irresistible combo to many Americans. However, the reward system behind the Dream Machine is questionable. Encouraging people to recycle bottles and cans only to get vouchers for a cardboard encased Domino’s Pizza or another pack of Pepsi? That’s just encouraging bad habits. But then again, we Americans are a greedy bunch.